Same Shit, Different Territory Part 1

Cordayl swims to shore and takes off his heavy, soaked shoes. He then rummages through his pockets and pulls his phone out, only to see it dripping from water damage.

Sighing, Cordayl tosses it back into the water and grabs his shoes.

Calmly walking through the jungle, Cordayl hears a noise and spins around to see no one there. Turning back around, he has to balance himself as two massive gorillas fall from the sky, shaking the earth.

Mesmerized, Cordayl sits there, hawking at the size of these creatures.

The voice gets excited. "Time to become king of the jungle!"

As if hearing his thoughts, the two apes roar and beat their chest, challenging the new arrival. Cordayl doesn't hesitate and runs between one of the gorilla's legs.

Avoiding the giant fist of the second, Cordayl speeds through a jungle that trips and rips up his clothing.

The creatures of the jungle stab and grab at him, hoping to make him prey. By the time Cordayl loses the two massive apes, he is huffing and puffing hard, trying to quietly catch his breath.

Still, in the shadows, Cordayl jumps when he notices a cute baby creature hiding with him. He pays it no mind and goes back to observing the scene.

Then he feels a pinch. Looking down, he sees the little creature has just bitten his foot.

A vein pops out on the side of his face.

Cordayl grabs the baby creature and punts it across the jungle.

Huffing out his frustration, he looks both apes in the eye when they turn around, excited to spot him. Cordayl isn't running this time.

He bangs his chest twice and charges at the brutes, who roar their rage and accept his challenge.

After defeating the two monkeys, Cordayl races back through the jungle, tearing everything in his path apart, from trees to animals, and doesn't stop running and fighting until he notices he's back at the ocean.

"Did I run to the other side of the island?" he questions, surveying the area. Seeing his boots and socks drying, Cordayl realizes he's back where he started.

Turning around to see where he came from, he sees a trail of destruction from the route he took to get back to this spot.

"Weak ass jungle." the voice comments. Picking up his shoes, Cordayl goes through the jungle by a different route and progresses to find shelter.

On the second journey through the jungle, Cordayl notices that the jungle animals are a lot less willing to play with him now. Cordayl keeps it moving, but the voice repeats itself, "Weak ass jungle."

Finally pushing through the jungle, Cordayl sees a massive tree and a tall cliff. "It would be easier to climb the mountain, but I feel like climbing the tree." With that, he starts climbing the tree.

Getting to a nice stopping point, Cordayl walks out on one of its thicker branches, gets to the edge, and stares at the beautiful view of a lovely waterfall with a lush grass field.

"Beautiful view," Cordayl and the voice say in unison.

Then he jumps off the branch like an Olympic gymnast and lands gracefully 75 yards below on the cliff's edge. He slips a little but regains his balance and walks off cooly.

Continuing ahead, Cordayl starts to see signs of claimed territory and stumbles upon a battleground. Traversing through, Cordayl notices the skeletal remains of humans and the destroyed parts of robots around him.

Noticing a flag, Cordayl walks over to it and curses as he recognizes the symbol on the banner.

"Fuck. This is Troyell territory. Hopefully, I can get through without running into them." Cordayl mutters.

Looking around, Cordayl finally spots what he is looking for and walks over to a robot with its head still attached. Snatching the robotic skull, Cordayl continues walking, looking for a place to camp for the night.

With the sun starting to descend and shelter made, Cordayl picks at the back of the robot's head at his campsite. He pries and pulls, but it just won't pop open.

"Bad idea," the voice warns.

"Shut up," Cordayl says, still pulling at the hinged door on the back. "See, back in the day, these gear heads had human partners, and a phone was installed in the back just in case they got jammed up or something," Cordayl explains.

"I know." the voice says dryly. Cordayl ignores it but finally manages to pull open the robot's skull. Shouting in excitement, he quickly starts to dial Yanna's number.

"Bad idea." the voice repeats itself, but again Cordayl ignores it.

Yanna doesn't answer the first time, but Cordayl doesn't care because he quickly calls back. The phone rings and rings, but she doesn't pick up the second time, so he calls a third time.

It rings and rings, and finally, Cordayl hears her ask, "Hello?"

He smiles. "Hey, Yan-" but then suddenly, the eyes of the gear bot's head light up and explode right in Cordayl's face.

The voice cracks up laughing, but Cordayl fails to see the humor in the situation.

Cordayl wipes the residue off of his face when he hears something move close to his campsite. Sitting back up, he turns around and stares into the bushes.

Cordayl catches an arrow aimed right at his face. Glaring at the sharp metal tip of the arrow, he snaps it in half.

"Whoever shot that, come on out. I'm not in the mood to play right now." Cordayl growls. A few seconds later, a warrior on an exotic animal steps out of the dark wearing a strange mask.

Cordayl sizes the figure up quickly, but can only assess that it's a woman. She takes a few steps forward. Then, a few more steps and Cordayl tells her to stop. He doesn't like her closing the gap. They stare at each other, neither breaking the silence, until Cordayl does.

"Are you friend or foe, because you really wouldn't want to be foe right now," Cordayl tells the girl.

"You are a Melatonin warrior." She says, a little amazed.

"And you are Troyell," Cordayl tells her.

"You must leave immediately. You are at great risk, " the woman tells him.

"Ohh boy, another life and death situation," Cordayl says, unphased.

"I'm serious." The girl tries to reason with him, "If you know my tribe, then you know that they will want to fight you. And since you are trespassing, it will be till death." she tells him, as they can hear the approaching warriors coming fast.

"That's fine with me," Cordayl says, stretching a few limbs to get loose.

The warriors arrive about eight deep on the same exotic animals, and their leader gets off. The girl runs up to him to try to talk to him but is ignored.

"Melatonin, you are trespassing. Leave or face death. The option is yours." The leader threatens Cordayl.

Cordayl smirks and says in unison with the voice, "Sorry, forward is the only option."

"Fine with me." the leader says. Cordayl takes a stance, but the leader tells him to follow him.

The girl drops back to speak to Cordayl, who is casually walking behind the group of warriors, "You still have a chance to get out of here. I don't want to see an unnecessary death."

"Don't worry, I'll try not to kill anyone. 2 deaths max." Cordayl tells her. But seeing the ugly faces the warriors are giving him, Cordayl turns back around and corrects himself "3 max."